Residents of Windmill Hill in Glastonbury can soon enjoy improved bus services as part of a new direct link to Bristol, announced by First West of England.

Starting 1st September, the extended service 376 will connect Yeovil to Bristol, passing through Street, Glastonbury, and Wells, replacing the current service 77.

The introduction of service 373, which will run from Wells to Street, is a significant boost for Windmill Hill. This new route will serve the residential area, following the withdrawal of services 374 and 375 from the estate due to low passenger numbers. The changes aim to enhance journey times and reliability for local passengers.

Rob Pymm, Commercial Director for First West of England, said: "Our ambition to link our urban routes in Bristol to our local routes in Somerset has proved popular since we connected Taunton and Bridgwater in April.

"I'm therefore really pleased that we're extending this further by connecting Yeovil to Bristol, creating new direct links for adults whose £2 single fare will cost as little as 5p per mile along the whole route, demonstrating the great value that bus travel offers.

"Encouraging more people to travel by bus can only be good news for Somerset and the wider West of England region, and allows us to invest more in our network to improve routes, provide more buses and new services, and improve punctuality.

"With these improvements and adult and child single fares still at £2 and £1 respectively we're making bus travel accessible to all to encourage our existing customers to travel more and encourage new customers to give the bus a go."

In addition to these changes, an express 376x service will offer speedy morning trips between Wells and Yeovil.

These updates are part of a broader effort to improve Somerset's bus routes, including recent new services from Taunton and Bridgwater to Bristol.

Other notable changes include timetable adjustments for service 174, running from Wells to Bath via Shepton Mallet. Some Sunday morning trips will now operate as service 171, skipping Shepton Mallet due to low passenger numbers.

Further details about all these changes can be found on the First West of England website. Customers should check their routes before travelling, and detailed timetables will be published soon.

First Bus has worked closely with local authorities, including Somerset Council, to ensure these new routes meet community needs when they start in September.